Rating: 
Summary: No magic
Review: SEP is one of my favorite authors. I'm sorry to say I was disappointed with this book. It just didn't have the SEP sparkle. That's the best way I can describe it. Her other books (Dream a Little Dream, It Had to be You, Kiss an Angel, Nobody's Baby but Mine, etc.)have this unique energy that touches your heart and soul so deeply and leaves you feeling so good, so satisfied with the world. I just didn't get any of that from this story. It fell flat for me. I don't know if I can pinpoint what's wrong with it but I think one factor is that I really didn't feel for the hero or heroine like I have with her other books. I think she should've spent more time on Isabel's fall from fame...it just kind of happened quickly in the first chapter...there was so little set up...all of a sudden she's in Italy to recover from the disastrous turn her life has taken but the reader doesn't really feel her pain at all. Therefore we never really connect with her. Same goes for Ren. He's got baggage from being neglected as a child and from his actress girlfriend who killed herself but we don't really feel that at any point. I finished the book but without any enthusiasm for these two characters. I felt more connected to Ren's ex-wife and her husband...there was adequate time spent on what went wrong with them and why so that I felt something for them. I haven't given up on SEP, I know she can write a story with so much emotional depth that I feel everything the characters are feeling. I was really looking forward to this one and am truly disappointed but that doesn't mean I won't run out and get her next one. I hope she gets her magic back; it was definitely missing from this one.
Rating: 
Summary: MORE MORE MORE
Review: I have to admit it, I'm hooked! Ms. Phillips is a new author for me and I have just contacted my used book store and they are holding all of her other books for me. I loved everything about this book. The descriptions of all things Italian were delicious...not to mention Ren (picture Pierce Brosnan). Somehow, Ms. Phillips has hit the story/love/family/sex/ humor/profanity level that I enjoy in a good read. I love her sense of humor and everything else is just right. This is one author I will treasure.
Rating:
Summary: Mrs. Phillips never disappoints!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: This book is one of the best books I have read. She's done it agian and has written another wonderful book. I couldn't put it down. I couldn't stop laughing or crying. You must read it.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read!
Review: Dr. Iasabel Favor has lost everything she's worked for. She's giving herself some Breathing Room in Italy to figure out what to do next. But what she didn't figure on was Lorenzo Gage, Hollywood's favorite bad-boy. Ren is the last man on earth she should want, but like the forbidden fruit, she can't help herself. What starts out as a brief taste ends up being something more...something much, much more.Two wounded souls come together and find that they're ready for a new direction...a direction that seems to lead them to each other! Susan Elizabeth Phillips is an author who always tells a compelling, touching love story!
Rating:
Summary: A Pleasant Surprise - Don't Pass This One Up!
Review: SEP is a new author for me - I've been reading some of her earlier works & saw this new release & read the previews - decided I had to read it. I was NOT disappointed. Ren is such a charming fellow (I'd give him a "10") and you'd think he would be such an UNlikely match for Isabel. (The woman makes "lists" for heaven's sake!) Throw in the romance & allure of Tuscany & an ex wife for spice - and voila! - I was hooked from the beginning. I had to laugh at myself sometimes, because some of Isabel's "foibles" were not unlike my own - and Ren seemed to take Isabel's approach to life in a most humorous way. When things really start getting funny because Isabel thinks Ren is a male prostitue, well, you've just got to read for yourself!
Rating:
Summary: The Cover Art is the Best Part
Review: "Barbara Cartland" gets updated and goes international for 2002. You know the ending at page 21 even though not all the twists and subplots. Mindless "entertainment" that doesn't require your brain to engage. I finished it because I bought the book. Had it been a library book, I'd have returned it unread.
Rating:
Summary: RUN....HURRY AND BUY THIS BOOK!
Review: I have just finished this book. I have read all of the books by this author, mostly with pleasure, but at times a bit dissapointed. The only dissapointment associated with this book is that it had to end. I laughed, cried, and learned something. I was so happy to read something that was so well written. I always thought that Ms Phillips was a good writer but I am very pleased that she has become an excellent writer. My thanks to the author for this book and the hours of enjoyment I had reading it. I look forward to more from her. Brava Ms Phillips!
Rating: 
Summary: Susan Elizabeth Phillips did it again!
Review: I have never read a Susan Elizabeth Phillips book I didn't like. God didn't make men like she writes about in her books. :) This book would have gotten a 5, but some parts got kind of boring. But overall, it's a great book.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not great...
Review: Don't get me wrong. I love Susan Elizabeth Phillips. In my opinion, she is one of the best contemporary fiction romance writers there is. She has this incredible talent of writing a heartwearming, funny, and charming romance story with characters you can connect with. In Breathing Room, she does it yet again, but somehow, it feels as if the spark is missing. The playful bickering/bantering of dialogue is definitely there. So is the romance. And the lush descriptions of Tuscany and the wonderful food makes me smell the aromas of the kitchen cooking. However, whereas the story begins in a promising manner, I felt the end fell a bit flat. Phillips' last novel, This Heart of Mine, carried me all the way through. I laughed, I felt the hurt when the characters hurt. But in Breathing Room, Phillips enters a more mystical realm where Isabella and this search for this sacred fertility statue (I am not joking you) gets to the point of a little bit ridiculous. I give the book four stars still, but really felt like it was more of a 3 1/2. If you want Phillips at her best, read This Heart of Mine, or Nobody's Baby But Mine.
Rating: 
Summary: Sadly disappointing
Review: I am a huge Susan Elizabeth Phillips fan -- Hot Shot; Heaven, Texas; Honey Moon...but this one was a major disappointment. I didn't care one iota about the characters and had to force myself to finish the book -- something that has NEVER happened to me with one of Ms. Phillips' novels. I just hope I remember how disappointed I was with this book when her next one comes out in hardback.
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